Whipped Goats Cheese & Mushroom Tortellini

Serves 4-6

Time 1 hour plus resting

Ingredients

For the Pasta

500g Tipo 00 flour 

5 large eggs

For the Filling

100g goat’s style cheddar cheese

100g soft goat’s cheese

100g crème fraiche 

2 small shallots, finely diced 

1 clove garlic, finely diced 

300g button mushrooms

1 tbsp butter, unsalted 

Salt and pepper

For the Sauce 

35g butter, unsalted

A little bit of your pasta water

10g pecorino cheese 

Salt and pepper, to season 

Method

To make your pasta, add your flour to the table and create a well in the centre of the flour. Add your cracked eggs in the centre of the well. Using a fork slowly start to whisk your eggs and a little bit at a time incorporating some of the flour, until everything is combined

Begin to knead your dough, ensuring to bring it all together into one nice ball, this will take a few minutes.

Now it is time to work the dough to activate the gluten which is important to give you a beautiful finish to your pasta. You should knead the dough for about 5 to 8 minutes.

Now cover the dough and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes before using. 

Whilst your dough is resting lets make the filling. Start by adding your mushrooms into a food processor and blitz. 

Over a medium heat, sauté your shallots and garlic with butter until slightly softened before adding your mushrooms and cooking until the moisture has evaporated. It should resemble almost a classic duxelles mix. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

You now want to grate your goat's cheddar into a large mixing bowl, before crumbling in your soft goat's cheese. Now whisk in your crème fraiche before folding through the mushroom mix and then season to taste. 

Add to a piping bag until ready to stuff your pasta.

To roll out your pasta on a machine, dust your surface with the Tipo 00 flour and place your dough on the surface, cut in half and pat it down. 

Start working it through the machine at the widest setting, before folding it over and putting it back through the machine still at the widest setting. Repeat this a few time to really give your dough the elasticity you want and make sure the gluten is doing all the right things.

Then you want to start back at the widest setting and work your way down the settings. As we are doing a tortellini you want the sheets to be almost translucent. 

Now using about a 10 cm round pastry cutter, cut your circles for your pasta. 

Once all is completed, dot your filling of goat's cheese and mushrooms in the centre ensuring not to overfill. 

Now to close of your tortellini slightly wet the outer ring with a little water and fold over and seal the pasta ensuring to try and remove as much air as possible. Once all are done, fold over one end of the pasta to the centre before folding over the side and seal with a little water again. 

Lay all your completed tortellini on a plate or tray with a little semolina to ensure they do not stick. 

Boil your tortellini in a pot of boiling water with a little salt only. They will only take a couple minutes to cook. 

For the sauce, melt your butter over a low heat adding a little pasta water to help thicken it. Now add your pecorino cheese and season to taste. Don’t be afraid to add more water if needed.

Toss through your pasta and finish with a little more cheese.